Four Perfect Pebbles Chapter 7&8

A wave of bittersweet emotion washes over the prisoners as they are released from captivity. They were free and were led to a place of bountiful food, but so many had been lost. So much suffering and death had plagued these people. How does one rebuild after this? In a class I would ask my students what they would do first. How would you go about picking up the pieces and starting a new life? They would not be able to relate in this way, but I'm sure many of them have experienced great loss in their lives, and could talk about that.
Preparing to migrate to not only another country but another continent is another frightening concept. Being in a tight confined space crowded with many other people would seem like the last thing any of these people would want to do again. They had a dream of obtaining freedom in a land far away from where they had been imprisoned. The courage it takes to pursue such a dream is astronomical. At the same time it seems like the best way to restart.
I would ask my students to try to step into the shoes of an immigrant first coming to America, and try to imagine the anxiety and excitement of arriving in a new land.

Four Perfect Pebbles Chapter 5&6

Chapter 5 marks the end to the struggle to escape Germany. The Blumenthals fall into the grasp of the Nazis and are sent to the camp described in the beginning of the book. This was the mark for a loss of hope and the seemingly inevitable fate of the family. Readers have now followed the full path leading to the tragic opening. At this point readers can only hope for an escape from the camp and the emancipation of the family. Unfortunately, this book is not a fairy tale, and even if they do escape there is so much that can go wrong.
Chapter 6 was a time of immense fear and uncertainty. The family did not know what awaited them, and the unknown is something that everyone fears. Disease killed off people on the train at an intense rate. People were dieing all around them. Typhus was the new fear amongst the prisoners. But after six and a half years the prisoners were liberated by the Russians. Freedom had come at last.
It is so difficult to comprehend the anguish of being treated like livestock. Herded into trains and camps as if you were an animal. The torture that these people faced is outrageous. This is such a heart breaking story to read knowing that it is true. By the end of the sixth chapter liberation has come, but everything does not magically get forgotten by this people. The memories of this pain and mistreatment will weigh them down and burden them for the rest of their lives.

Four Perfect Pebbles Chapter 3 &4

Chapter 3 lingers in suspense of what will happen to the family. Readers may want to hold onto a sense of optimism while reading, but they already know the Blumenthals do not escape. Regardless, the book sets the audience up to maintain hope. As the violence breaks out and Kristallnacht takes places, the hope seems to disappear. I thought the pictures between the 3rd and 4th chapter provided a strong reinforcement to the fact that this book is a true story. The pictures alone might be a better way of teaching younger children about this dark time in history. A less in depth and specific account may be more suiting.
Chapter 4 continues the struggle in attempt to escape. Although getting out of Germany was near impossible due to the increasing influence of the Nazi party. Even leaving the country did not mean safety, only a temporary haven. It ends with the departure to the railroad, and yet another cliffhanger.

After completing four chapters of this book, I am rather convinced that I would not use it in any classroom below about sixth grade. I feel that this book is way too heavy for younger readers to handle. Even if the words are at their level, the subject manner is not. Education of the Holocaust, if it even were to take place in elementary school, should be less in depth a of a broader nature. Such extensive evil existing in the real world should not be added to the plate of what a child already fears from the fictitious world.

Four Perfect Pebbles Chapter 2

I was very interested in the transition between chapter 1 and chapter 2. I liked how chapter one revealed where they were, and Chapter 2 backtracked to explain how they got there. Chapter 2 builds the story of the family. Her traveling to find work, and how she settled in Hoya, paints a picture of a simpler time before the Nazi invasion. The authors somewhat ease the tension of the story with this approach, allowing readers to hear about less tragic events. The details of the town and the style of the houses are given with good description. I see this chapter as a time when the "four pebbles" were together and settled. At the same time it is an uneasy calm as they learn about the growing strength of the Nazi party. It is impossible to imagine how it would feel hearing such news as a Jew in Germany. The fear of such a storm building up, fearing when it will reach you. The fact that the accounts are true make the story all the more frightening. It would be comforting to believe that Hitler was a fictitious character and the Holocaust was just part of a terrible imagination. Unfortunately such evil people exist in real life and were not just invented for entertainment. Memoirs such as this book have the most frightening antagonists.

Four Perfect Pebbles Chapter 1

The first chapter of Four Perfect Pebbles provides a grim look of the abominable conditions in concentration camps during World War II. The authors paint a vivid mental picture in the minds of their readers of the horrors they faced. The worst part is that the story is true. The immense detail and descriptions of each aspect of life in these camps is enough to make you cringe. I found myself wondering how I would adapt to such poor conditions. Living in filth and fear everyday with no way to escape is a bone chilling concept. Another thing this book makes me think about is how I take my freedom for granted. While reading about how bad other had it, you start to reflect on how lucky you really are. It is hard to complain when you think about how fortunate you are not to be imprisoned. To not be persecuted for your beliefs and heritage is something the people in this book yearned for. It is enlightening to read such memoirs and reflect on true accounts. The detail that authors of such works use in their writing cannot be matched by even the best fictional writers.

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